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Stuart wants Eels to delight NRL fans

Ian McCullough

Ricky Stuart says he's excited by the prospect of his first NRL match as coach since July 2010 but showing Parramatta's long-suffering fans their team is competitive is far more important than the scoreboard against the Warriors on Saturday.

Stuart's men were hammered by the Wests Tigers and drew with Penrith in their trials and host a Warriors side blessed with great talent but riddled with inconsistency.

Parramatta took out the wooden spoon last year and Stuart is under no illusions about how hard it will be to turn around a side that won just 12 of their past 48 matches.

"I am excited about it and I know all the players are as well," Stuart said.

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"I have pulled up a couple of sessions short this week because the excitement was there and we didn't want to be playing three weeks ago.

"I am not worried about the scoreboard. I am worried about two things: I want the perception of the crowd to change and I want them to see a competitive, tough football team."

"I'm not going to lack patience here. It's a big, big job and it's going to take time."

Stuart has struggled to hire new faces since his arrival at the end of last season, with Manly fringe players Darcy Lussick and Daniel Harrison the only additions.

The Eels thought they had young Canberra player Josh Papalii for next year but the controversial forward will be staying in the capital.

The Raiders issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying the 20-year-old had agreed to terms with the club through until the end of 2016 following discussions with his family and friends.

"Over the past couple of weeks, I've spent a lot of time talking with my family about this decision and I'm comfortable that it's the best thing for me, my career and my family," Papalii said in a statement.

Papalii had been at the centre of a tug-of-war for his services having initially signed a three-year, $1 million deal with the Eels.

But the Raiders had until round 13 to make a counter offer.

The Raiders always maintained that Papalii had signed with the Eels under duress, a claim the Sydney club denied.

Earlier on Friday, Eels coach Stuart seemed confident Papalii would be seen in the blue and gold.

"I am excited by the signing. He's going to be a great asset, but I know there's a lot of pressure being put on him which is unfair.

"I think there's too much pressure on players to make decisions too soon and it needs to be looked at."

The Warriors also have a new coach in Matthew Elliott, who comes in after a season in which the club went from grand finalists to finishing 14th and losing their last eight games.

Elliott has been boosted by the return of halfback Shaun Johnson who's recovered from an elbow injury and former Eel Todd Lowrie will make his debut for the visitors.